Land Registry figures show the number of homes sold in the West Midlands have dropped dramatically year-on-year.

Latest statistics show the total number of sales slipped to 6,502 in the first three months of the year compared to 9,450 in the same period in 2004.

In England and Wales the total has fallen by more than a third, a Land Registry spokeswoman said.

However that news comes as separate Government figures show house prices have gone up for the third month running in the region - and increased by 14.5 per cent between March 2004-05.

The Land Registry said nationally only 159,116 properties changed hands during the first three months of the year, 35 per cent fewer than the 243,914 that were sold during the same period of 2004.

At the same time the number of properties which went for more than £1 million in England and Wales also dropped, with 655 homes sold for seven figures, compared with 795 during the first quarter of 2004.

Overall annual house price inflation was running at 10.27 per cent during the three months to the end of March, down from a rate of 14 per cent the previous year.

The average property in England and Wales was now worth £183,486, although less than 53,000 homes were sold for less than £120,000 during the period.

Its figures showed average house prices in the West Midlands rising by ten per cent in the first three months of this year compared with last - £137, 644 to £151,537.

Figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) showed annual house price inflation in the UK increasing to 12.6 per cent for the year to the end of March, up from 10.5 per cent in the 12 months to the end of February, which it attributed to a 2.1 per cent jump in prices during March.

In the West Midlands average house prices for March stood at £164,518, compared with £160,285 in February and £159,090 in January, a spokesman said. The March on March increase stood at 14.5 per cent - £143,706 to £164,518.

Sabina Kalyan, property economist at Capital Economics, said: "The data from the ODPM, lends further weight to arguments that the housing market experienced a modest recovery this spring.

"Overall, the numbers do little to clarify the confusion over the current state of the housing market, let alone give hints as to the future direction of house prices."

Land Registry figures showed average house prices in the West Midlands rising by ten per cent in the first three months of this year compared with last - £137,644 to £151,537.